To give up on freelancing after just one year?

[pinksunsets]

I was made redundant last year. TBH I was quite relieved as I've always wanted to try freelancing and was excited to have the chance to give it a proper go. I landed some prestigious projects but they were all so badly paid! I used to feel so demoralised in my staff jobs doing mindless work that I didn't really love. But now I'm doing work that I love and being paid badly for it is disheartening in a different way. I'm a writer and the rates are generally pretty terrible.

I've not been looking for full-time work but a job opportunity has come my way. In my heart I would love to keep going with freelancing but my head is saying take the money! Would you love to hear from other freelancers (especially writers) on how long it took for them to build a successful career! I do have savings that I have dipped into but I'd rather not keep doing that.

I hear this story. In 2015 I left a dreary but well-paid job on a corporate digital marketing team (due to relocation as much as anything) and was relying on a two key contacts for freelance writing work. The idea was that I'd build up a wider range of clients, enjoy a more diverse workload and not get bogged down returning to the same topics again and again. I also wanted to become less dependent on work from the non-English-speaking country where I had been living and build up more work here in the UK.

What happened? Well, starting a family, then a pandemic. That hit pretty hard. I've added one additional client, but as an add-on to an existing client. Eggs still feel like they're in the same basket, just the basket got a bit bigger.

Overall, I'm still paying the bills and I'm fortunate that I can be very flexible about when I work. Can't complain. But I'm frustrated that rather than having 6-7 years of experience, I feel like I have one year repeated half a dozen times. If I was offered a FT opportunity that suited, I'd probably take it and trade a bit of flexibility for greater security (DD is now in school, which helps slightly with that). But I'm not chasing every possible position and hoping that something sticks. Not yet.

Took me 6 months to be fully self-sufficient. Been freelance for 19 years. Translation, so similar to writing. If they like your work, they keep coming back.

However, it's a double-edged sword. Juggling deadlines and small children was horrible. If I had my time again, I'd choose the safer permanent job option and build up the freelancing on the side. Depends also on how reliable your partner is.

Thanks, both! @Quincunx I don't have a partner so it's all on me! I don't have kids either - not sure how I would manage with freelance deadlines and taking care of children! I have freelanced a bit around my previous jobs but it's hard to sustain with a full time job.

@andyindurham I feel the same. I have many years of experience which I thought would mean something but I just feel like I'm starting from scratch with each new publication I approach.

I write novels, good reviews, thousands of readers etc. But I cannot make them turn a profit, everyone wants to pay £0.99 and to also get free short stories and long newsletters etc etc. But the cover artist costs money, the editor costs money, formatting costs money, time IS money etc etc.

For me, the result is, I don’t love writing the way I did. I’m good at it and I love to pour out a story, but I find myself falling back in love with my past corporate job where I had a nice desk and colleagues and actually got paid. Now seeking a way back to corporate life… Writing may feed the soul, but it’s too depressing trying to sell it. I just feel exploited by my readers and I think I’m coming to hate them! 😱

Yes, @Thewindwhispers, I'm discovering a big part of freelancing is selling yourself which I am terrible at! Exploited is the right word - that's how I feel increasingly when I'm negotiating rates with very well known publications. I've been trying to move into copywriting but I've not had much luck.

Shamelessly following because I'm considering a career change to freelance writer

Oh dear @PollyPutTheKettleOnKettleOn. This may well put you off...

I'm a freelance copywriter. It took me about 18 months to reach full work capacity and I started from zero clients. I earn about £50K doing a mix of boring corporate stuff and more interesting blogs/articles. I'd give it a bit longer and just keep fishing for good clients!

@BringItOnBruno how did you find these clients?! Please tell me your secrets. Was your background in copywriting? I'm a journalist and have worked on branded content. I feel like it's pretty similar!

I'm a freelance writer too. It was a complete change of career as I was an anaesthetic nurse before, but circumstances forced me to go freelance. I had done a little bit of writing in my NHS job and did an MA in literature ages ago so I was confident I could make a decent go of it.

I built experience slowly via job boards and gradually upped my prices with each job I did. In my third year in business I'd replaced my NHS income on much fewer hours and with much more flexibility.

Freelancing works really well for me as I have kids, my husband is in the Forces so childcare can be an issue and I very much enjoy not commuting.

Most of my clients are referrals or retainers and although my income can vary even slow months are manageable.

Personally I wouldn't take a full time job because I like the flexibility of freelancing but if a full time job is likely to work better for you then maybe do that and keep a couple of freelance clients on the side

I write for a living. But all the things that I get paid significant amounts for require me to write what 'they' say, to write in 'their' style. To put aside my own ego and my own writing style and my own opinions.

I work in a particular sector where I have professional experience, so I've got credibility (albeit it many years out of date, now) and I also understand the commonly used acronyms. It is not exciting to write a property strategy or an annual report but I take pride in changing 4 or 5 powerful words which turn a mediocre piece of text into something with impact.

After about 4 years of freelance, there was no way I could have returned to corporate employment.

Why are the contracts so badly paid if they are so prestigious? Put your prices up!

Yup, why are they so badly paid?

I freelance but not on a huge scale simply because I have around 6 to 8 useable hours a day on a VERY good day, otherwise I'd do more.

It's taken me a long time to make it pay off, but again, not the normal story, I've never had a 'proper' job (as in 'go to an office/workplace, do stuff, come home) and just gradually built up who I know, what I know, networks of people.. until I haphazardly landed in a place where people know that I can write, that I know my stuff, that I can produce the goods on time etc.

Have a look round the net for suggested day and hourly rates - ask for what you want, if you don't ask, plenty of people will happily rip you off without a seconds thought!

I'd say if you've seen a job that makes your heart sing, then do that - you only get one go on the planet as far as anyone knows, and that's not long enough to do stuff you hate. You can always freelance alongside and quit the job if you find your freelance work taking off.

Put your prices up! Writing is a skill and they’re paying for that skill and your experience.

Having said that I quit freelancing after having children because nursery fees were so steep and I wanted the security, and to not have to say yes to jobs to keep the freelancing ticking, then ending up working evenings/weekends, etc. But I never earned much freelancing as I was lazy and hated the hustle and the chase for jobs, hated the admin from chasing invoices (just bloody pay invoices on time, people!), and fundamentally only did bits and bobs to supplement novelist income. Which also wasn’t much because publishers are tight.

But if I had my time again I’d hustle harder to build it as a career, suck up the admin/invoicing side, and set confident prices, because freelancing is always better than work because no annual appraisals, no KPIs, no office politics, no bullshit.